Most Wanted Sex Offender caught in Dallas area

By mwesp

Created 10/22/2012 - 11:06am

Texas DPS Release

Monday, October 22, 2012 - 11:06am

Dallas, tx — Thomas Lee Elkins, 58, a Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender, is now in custody after being arrested in Coppell on Friday by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Highway Patrol and Coppell Police Department. A $5,000 reward will be paid on a tip that helped lead to his arrest. Elkins was wanted for felony Failure to Comply with Civil Commitment Requirements after discarding his electronic monitoring device and leaving a Houston halfway house October 5.

The tip came from Arizona and established that the offender may be a passenger in a truck traveling in Dallas County. DPS and the Coppell Police Department pulled the vehicle over and arrested Elkins Friday morning at 346 E. Beltline Road in Coppell. His lengthy criminal history included Aggravated Sexual Assault, Assault, Aggravated Kidnapping, Aggravated Rape, Forcible Rape, Indecent Liberties with Child and Aggravated Battery. See Elkins’ captured bulletin at: http://www.dps.texas.gov/Texas10MostWanted/capturedDetails.aspx?id=169[1] .

So far in 2012, DPS and other agencies have arrested 29 Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives and Sex Offenders, including 20 gang members, and $93,000 in rewards have been paid for tips that resulted in arrests. The cash rewards are funded by the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division.

Anyone with information can provide anonymous tips in four different ways:

Call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).
Text the letters DPS—followed by your tip—to 274637 (CRIMES) from your cell phone.
Submit a web tip through the DPS website by selecting the fugitive you have information about, and then clicking on the link under their picture.
Submit a Facebook tip at http://www.facebook.com/texas10mostwanted[3] by clicking the “SUBMIT A TIP” link (under the “About” section).

All calls, texts, e-mails and Facebook messages are anonymous.

DPS investigators work with local law enforcement agencies to select fugitives featured in the Texas 10 Most Wanted Program. To view the current lists—with photos—visit the DPS website at http://www.dps.texas.gov/texas10mostwanted/[4].